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11.18.2012

Pompeii: Ancient Ruins

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Now, believe it or not, we did do more than just eat on our trip to Italy. Though it may not seem like it, from my prior post describing a schedule based strictly on what to eat next. In between eating we did lots of sight seeing, but in my opinion eating is still one of the highlights to any vacation, especially one to Italy!

We arrived in Rome late a few Thursdays ago and picked up our trusty rental car. It got us around, but didn't always smell the best while doing it. We headed straight to Rome's Camping Village Fabulous for the night. We were a little skeptical about our "Chateau" in the small camping village outside of Rome, but the price was right, and we just needed a place to stay before heading South. It actually turned out to be pretty nice, surrounded by giant Sycamores, it really felt like camping fabulously.

We woke up to a beautiful, sunny day at the Chateau, in spite of a forecast full of rain (the rain was still to come). We decided before heading straight to Minori, the small coastal town we were staying in outside of Amalfi for a few days, we would first stop at the Ancient Ruins of Pompeii and spend sometime wandering the ancient streets of a city that was buried in volcanic ash in 79 AD.

Whether you get to Pompei by car or train, follow the signs for Scavi (which is Ruins in Italian). When you get your ticket go to the small information booth to the left and ask for a free guide booklet. It is basically a booklet version of the audio guide and you can save a few bucks by reading it yourself, following the numbers along the way. We came across lots of people attempting to follow a guidebook they had purchased from outside sources with no such luck and offered a few of our extras. Don't get lost in Pompeii! Pick up a free book!

We walked through old temples and bakeries, The forum, where political decisions were made and which Mount Vesuvius still lurks eerily in the background.

We saw large houses and gardens of the wealthy, with beautiful frescos. We even duked it out in the ampitheatre. May the best man win.

Obviously, I let him win.

In the end we were all friends again.

But the saddest part of the visit, were the plaster casts of the victims.

A whole town and its people were lost in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii. It is amazing that we are able to see the remains of a working culture of so long ago today. If you ever get the chance to visit Pompeii, you definitely should.

After our visit we fueled up on some pizza and bruschetta (the tomatoes are just better in Italy), then headed to Minori.